Exile
by Allana
Summary: Liz makes a decision and acts quickly to aid Max.


Exile  
Summary: Liz makes a decision and acts quickly to aid Max.  
Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: I don't own Roswell. What else is new?  
A/N: To those Polarists out there, don't be fooled. To everyone, this should be better   
than the first fic I posted.   
Spoilers: Anything during and after Tess, Lies, and Videotape, as well as Pilot and Blind   
Date.  
  
Liz sat crying on her balcony. It was ironic, she thought, that the same balcony   
where she got her first kiss from Max was the same where she was crying over him.   
Why couldn't Tess leave them alone? She stole Max. Liz didn't know if it was because   
of her mind control or the "destiny" thing, or… maybe Max really liked her. Loved her.   
They had the flashes together. It was supposed to be between her and Max. That's what   
made them a special couple. Liz wondered if it happened with all other girls or just Tess   
and she. She thought Max loved her. Now destiny stuck him with a living alien cabbage   
patch doll with curls.  
  
Destiny, destiny, destiny. It was all she heard. What about fate?  
  
She was still crying when she heard someone come up her ladder. Was it Max?   
Would he come to apologize, or to take her away? Would he come to make more   
promised that he couldn't keep? Liz was torn on the subject of seeing him again.   
  
She heard the steps coming closer and didn't even bother to dry her tears. If it   
was Max, he might as well see how miserable she was.  
  
To her surprise, she saw medium brown, spiky hair appear in the dim light. It was   
Michael.   
  
Liz stood up awkwardly, forgetting to wipe away her tears. She tried to ask why   
he was there, but she choked on the words and started crying again. She let out a flood of   
emotion for the second time that evening. Through blurry eyes, she saw that Michael   
was really concerned for her, and he gave her a hug. She cried into his shoulder and he   
held her, like the stone wall he wanted to be.   
  
Finally, she calmed down enough to listen to Michael. "I just came back from   
Maria's." He paused, making sure Liz was okay. "I've decided that I can't go through   
with this destiny thing. How am I supposed to believe that Tess is my sister? I don't   
believe that there is a pre-destined force to put Isabel and I together either. I want control   
of my own life, and right now, I want Maria. I told her so."  
  
"So why are you here?" asked Liz.  
  
"I know Max," he said. He sat down with her on the edge of the balcony. "And I   
know that he really doesn't believe in this destiny thing either. Tess is almost constantly   
controlling him. I've been watching Max, and I think that the control loses hold of him   
when he's more than five miles from her. We've got to get him out of here. You know,   
whenever we fight, I feel that it's a part of Max that wants to get out. Tess is keeping his   
love for you away, so his energy has to go out someway else. Tess isn't enough for him.   
He might even explode and go crazy. I think that you would be the only one that can get   
through to him."  
  
Liz thought back to when Max was drunk. He was making the parking meters   
spark. The words, "When I'm not with you, I go crazy…" echoed through her head.   
Poor Max. She should forgive him, she thought. On the inside, he was still the sweet   
Max that had loved her since the day he first saw her. She knew that Michael was a rebel   
and rarely stayed in school for a whole day, but he never lied. Ever. Hank had lied to   
him too much for him to lie to others. He knew how much it hurt.   
  
Liz thought of an idea. "We have to get him away from her then. Somewhere   
where she wont find us. It's probably best for all of us to leave Roswell. All of us that   
are on the list. That means Valenti too."  
  
"Why can't we just leave him here? I'm sure he can take care of himself."  
  
"He's a person too, Michael. We should help him."  
  
Michael thought about it for a while. "Okay. I'll get everyone. Where are we   
going to go?"  
  
Now it was Liz's turn to think. "Into the desert."  
  
~*_*~  
  
Michael, Maria, and Liz were in the jeep together, riding down the highway in the   
middle of the night. Max was in the backseat by Liz and the suitcases, unconscious.   
That was the only way they could get him into the car. Michael had to knock him out.   
They were followed by the Sheriff's car, which held both Valentis, Alex, and Isabel. It   
also carried suitcases, as well as equipment and rations that they would need. They were   
going into exile. They all began to realize that it had to happen sooner or later, with   
Nasedo and Tess after them. They were all scared.   
  
They drove deep into desert country, and eventually pulled off from the highway   
and drove a little further. When they were out of sight range from the highway, they   
parked the cars side by side and began to dig. The ground was hard from lack of rain, but   
they worked hard. By dawn, they had dug a shallow tunnel big enough for three people   
to huddle under. It became too hot to work during the day, so the girls slept in the tunnel   
while the guys took shifts keeping watch and sleeping in the Sheriff's car. Max,   
fortunately, remained unconscious.  
  
That night, they woke up and began work on their tunnel once more. Michael and   
Maria went out to erase the tire marks from the desert floor, since they had been too   
distracted to do so the night before. "Do you suppose Max will ever wake up? You   
seemed to have put him in a coma."  
  
"He'll be fine. If he's still knocked out tomorrow, then I'll worry." He paused,   
and looked into her eyes. "Are you okay with this?"  
  
"Okay with what?"  
  
"With this exile thing. Would you have rather have stayed in Roswell?"  
  
"Look, if you're leaving, what's the point of me staying or trying to force you to   
stay with me. It might be safer out here."  
  
"Would you follow me anywhere?"  
  
"Yeah," she said mildly.   
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because I love you. I should have thought that would have been obvious to   
you."  
  
"That's not what I'm asking. What I mean is…why do you love me?"  
  
She stepped closer to him. "Because you can be really sweet when you put your   
mind to it, and you are so hot." She ruffled his spiky hair. "I know there's something   
else, but I can't describe it. It's like I have to be with you."  
  
"It's the same with me."  
  
~*_*~  
  
Max woke up feeling very groggy. When his eyes focused, he saw Liz standing   
over him. "How do you feel?"  
  
"Like Michael slugged me." He tried to sit up, but felt dizzy and lay down again.   
"Where am I?"  
  
"We're all in the desert. Everyone from the list is here."  
  
"Why are we in the desert?"  
  
He's calm, thought Liz. That's a good thing. "Tess was poisoning your mind   
with this destiny thing. Michael and I decided to get everyone out of Roswell. You   
might have gone crazy if you stayed."  
  
"I barely remember," said Max. "I kissed Tess? She's a cabbage patch doll with   
curls. What did she do to me?"  
  
"Michael said that she was blocking your love for me. You were going crazy.   
You were fighting him. He knows you too well to know that you would never fight him,   
unless it was just a friendly match. Tess made you violent. You need to be away from   
her to clear your mind."  
  
"Where are we staying? We can't just stay in the desert forever…"  
  
"We're building an underground tunnel with rooms for us to live in. We'll be   
okay. We'll go to other nearby towns for groceries until our money runs out, and then   
some of us will get jobs and lay low. We can't let anyone know who we are. We're in   
exile, Max."  
  
"I wish we could have discussed this first."  
  
"You were to Tessified to have agreed. We couldn't leave you there with her.   
She's dangerous, Max. For all of us."  
  
"You saved me?"  
  
It was a sudden question, and Liz was taken aback for a moment. "Yes, just like   
you saved me. It's fate, maybe."  
  
Max sat up, ignoring the dizziness, and kissed her on the forehead. "Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome." Then they kissed again.  
  
~*_*~  
  
Alex and Isabel were at work in the tunnel. The Sheriff and Kyle were taking a   
break. As they shoveled, Isabel was doing some thinking. Now that Alex and she were   
in exile together, why couldn't they form a relationship. She wouldn't have to be alone.   
She knew that she loved Alex, and he probably loved her. So, in a way, they were   
already connected. It was too late for them to be safe. Isabel could never be alone again.   
She needed Alex, just like he needed her.   
  
"Alex?" she asked. Alex stopped digging and looked at her. "You know how   
you wanted to go out with me, and I said that I didn't want you to get hurt?"  
  
"Yeah," he said cautiously.  
  
"Well, maybe we could do like you said, and start slow?"  
  
"Sure, and I totally understand. You're not used to opening up. We could start   
however you want, though this exile thing really limits most possibilities."  
  
Isabel laughed, the first in a long time. "What possibilities?"  
  
"I mean, we couldn't go to the movies, or rent a movie, or go out to dinner, or…"  
  
Isabel cut him off when she hugged him. He smiled and hugged her back,   
knowing that he finally won his girl.   
  
~*_*~  
  
When Michael and Maria came back from erasing the tire tracks in the sand, the   
Valentis took their turn at the watch. All of a sudden, they saw lights coming toward   
them from the highway. They ran to warn everyone else in the tunnel to get into the cars.   
  
Five teenagers struggled out of the tunnel and ran to the cars, but it was too late.   
They could see that it was Tess and her "Daddy". They stopped their car and got out,   
both of them looking furious.  
  
"You are messing with destiny, here. You can't beat destiny. Come back to   
Roswell and you wont be harmed." So Nasedo was trying to reason with them. It wasn't   
working.  
  
"We wont come with you!" yelled Michael. "I don't want someone else   
controlling my life. I'm going to choose who I'm going to be with, and right now, I   
choose Maria."  
  
"Well, what will Max choose?" asked Tess. She started using her mind control,   
and Max started walking forward, even though he was still a bit dizzy.   
  
"Stop!" yelled Liz. She ran in front of Max, and somehow stopped his advance.   
"Max, don't give in! She doesn't love you, I do. Fate brought us together, remember?"  
  
Fate. That was the word that Tess couldn't stand. "There is no such thing as fate.   
Only destiny. Come back to me, Max!"  
  
Max tried to step around Liz, but she put her arms around him and gave him a   
kiss. Max had a flash of Liz being shot, and him healing her. It was what she felt at the   
time, and he knew she loved him, and he loved her too. Nothing could break that fate,   
not even destiny. Max was finally clear of the mind control.  
  
"I can't be with you, Tess. I decide my own destiny, and fate plays a hand. I   
want to be with Liz. I love her. I have always loved her, and she loves me back, unlike   
you. You can't force me."  
  
Tess was taken aback for a while, but then she looked a little lost in thought. She   
turned around, and said, "Let's go, Daddy. We can't force them to do what we want. It   
isn't going to work. Let's just go. Daddy?"  
  
Nasedo's eyes were glued on Liz. They sparked hatred. He raised his hand and   
sent out a bolt of lightening hurtling toward her. None of them were fast enough to save   
her. The next moment, she was lying on the ground, barely alive, and likely to die. No   
one noticed Nasedo and Tess leaving, but they knew that they would never come back.   
Max was frantic and tried to heal her. It didn't seem to work. All of them thought that   
she had died when she closed her eyes, but Maria felt her pulse. "She's still alive!" she   
exclaimed. "She's just sleeping! She's alive!"   
  
Maria began to cry with happiness and turned to hug Michael, like he had saved   
her. Alex also hugged Isabel. Even the Valentis were hugging. They had all won.   
Nothing would harm them again. They could go back to Roswell and live their semi-  
normal lives again.  
Max kissed Liz on the forehead and let her sleep.  
  
The End  
  
  
  



End file.
